Franklin pays tribute to veterans

"It's been tough," he said. "I know we're going to see a lot of kids in the grave sites the next couple of years. It makes it that much more important that we recognize it (Memorial Day)."

With conflicts both past and present recognized yesterday, the mood was lively at points and somber at others. Residents cheered as marchers strode through downtown with school bands playing, then grew silent at stops at the Union Street and St. Mary's cemeteries for the playing of "Taps" and a rifle-firing salute.

For Cpl. Jeffrey Bederian of the Marine Reserves, it marked the first time he had been honored in a parade.

"It feels strange, the people saying thank you," said Bederian, who returned to Franklin in October after six months in Fallujah, Iraq. The parade also gave him a chance to march with his father, Larry Bederian, a Vietnam War Marine who now commands the town's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3402.

"It's nice to see him home," Larry Bederian said.

Later, he added, "We march for those who can't."

In addition to a Rotary Club float and a World War II-era Jeep, the event featured marchers from the Elks Club, the town's police honor guard, and Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and their younger affiliates. Music was provided by marching bands from Annie Sullivan, Horace Mann and Remington middle schools and from the high school.

Other participants included Paul Hemphill of Norfolk, a Vietnam vet who donned a replica Civil War uniform to honor an ancestor killed fighting for the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg. He said he was taking jokes about looking good for being nearly 150 years old in stride.

"I hope my sons are going to wear this uniform some day," he said. "Who knows?"

The parade ended at the town common with a brief ceremony, where Master of Ceremonies John Reitinger, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, brought up the war in Iraq.

"It comes close to home when we lose our own youth," he said, referring to Shayne Cabino, killed two years ago by a roadside bomb.

Cabino's mother, Jodi Cabino-Cipriano, told the crowd, "Make sure you thank someone that served." Later, in a private moment, she added, "Every day is tough. It doesn't get easier, it gets harder."

Hoping that his fellow soldiers make it home alive, Jeffrey Bederian said he continues to follow events in Iraq.